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“Seeing” the social roles of brands: How physical positioning influences brand evaluationXun (Irene) Huang, Xiuping Li, Meng Zhang2013 Vol. 23 No. 4This paper investigates when the brand is promoting a specific social role (as a friend or as a leader), whether the physical position of a brand image in relation to the customer's image influences brand evaluations. Two studies reveal that the match between the promoted social role and the visual representations of the brand and customer in the ad layout improves evaluations. When the brand is promoted as a friend to its customers, consumers evaluate it more positively if the image of the brand is located horizontally and near to the image of the customer. However, when the brand is promoted as a leader to its customers, consumers evaluate it more positively if the image of the brand is located above and far from the image of the customer.

A dual-system framework to understand preference construction processes in choiceRavi Dhar, Margarita Gorlin2013 Vol. 23 No. 4Building on the dual-system theory of judgment, we propose an intuitive and deliberate framework for understanding the effects of preference construction in choice. We argue that while certain choice effects can be attributed primarily to rapid, unintentional, and intuitive processing, others arise from intentional and deliberate processing. We use this distinction to group choice effects previously identified in the literature, discuss evidence in support of the dual-system framework of preference construction, and propose new research directions. Since the defining property of intuitive versus deliberate mental processes is the degree to which they engage working memory, the proposed framework sheds light on how these previously identified effects will change with conditions such as the availability of cognitive resources. We conclude by calling for additional research to explore the interplay between intuitive and deliberate processing to determine which processes are implicated in generating a preference, as well as research on new moderators of choice effects based on the difference in the amount of willful information processing that underlies decision making.

Avoiding poor health or approaching good health: Does it matter? The conceptualization, measurement, and consequences of health regulatory focusPierrick Gomez, Adilson Borges, Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann2013 Vol. 23 No. 4This research presents a new scale, the health regulatory focus scale, which measures an individual's tendency to use promotion or prevention strategies in the pursuit of health goals. We conducted five studies in France to develop the scale which is made up of two subscales for prevention and promotion. We also tested the scale's psychometric properties and demonstrated its two-factor dimensionality, internal and test–retest reliability, and convergent, nomological, predictive and discriminant validity. The health subscales showed good predictive validity in that they correlated with health behaviors better than the general regulatory focus subscales. For instance, health promotion focus predicted dentist visits while general promotion focus did not, and health prevention focus predicted the use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs while general prevention focus did not. Also as expected, general prevention focus predicted avoidance of risky vacation behaviors while health prevention focus did not. The health subscales either did not correlate or correlated weakly with positive and negative affectivity and general risk aversion indicating good discriminant validity. The one-year test–retest reliabilities were adequate for both subscales.

Can disclosures lead consumers to resist covert persuasion? The important roles of disclosure timing and type of responseMargaret C. Campbell, Gina S. Mohr, Peeter W.J. Verlegh2013 Vol. 23 No. 4While sponsorship disclosure is proposed as a remedy for covert marketing, i.e., tactics such that the persuasive nature of the communication is not clear to consumers, little is known about whether or when disclosures prompt consumers to correct for persuasion. Three experiments reveal that covert marketing, in the form of subtle product placements, can increase brand recall and attitudes but that both instructions to avoid influence and mere disclosure of sponsorship can lead to correction. The first experiment demonstrates that consumers are able to correct both brand attitudes and stated recall when there are instructions to avoid influence. The following two experiments show that mere sponsorship disclosure can evoke use of persuasion knowledge for correction. However, disclosure timing differentially influences correction for recall and attitudes. Disclosure prior to exposure to the covert marketing tactic leads only to correction for effects on recall; attitude is as high with a prior disclosure as with placement with no disclosure. Disclosure after placement provides general correction of the impact of the covert marketing tactic on both recall and attitudes.

Compensatory knowledge signaling in consumer word-of-mouthGrant Packard, David B. Wooten2013 Vol. 23 No. 4This paper extends prior research on consumer knowledge beliefs and word-of-mouth transmission. Findings from four studies suggest that people compensate for unfavorable discrepancies between their actual and ideal consumer knowledge with heightened efforts to signal knowledgeability through the content and volume of their word-of-mouth transmissions. This compensatory knowledge signaling effect is moderated by the self-concept relevance (psychological closeness) of the word-of-mouth target and lay beliefs in the self-enhancement benefits of transmitting product knowledge. Content analysis of participants' product communications further supports our knowledge signaling account. The relationship between actual:ideal knowledge discrepancies and heightened word-of-mouth intentions is mediated by the specific negative emotion associated with actual:ideal self-discrepancies. Overall, the findings suggest that the relationship between consumer knowledge and word-of-mouth transmission depends not only on what you think you know, but also on what you wish you knew.

Dual process theory and the context of choice: Comments on Dhar and GorlinKeith E. Stanovich2013 Vol. 23 No. 4Dhar and Gorlin show that default-interventionist dual-process theory differentially classifies several effects in the consumer choice literature and makes differential predictions across a variety of manipulations. One of the most startling differential classifications in their model is that it drives a wedge between the attraction and enhancement effects, because they arise from System 1 and System 2, respectively. System-2 bias effects explain why sometimes less complex organisms (nonhumans, human children) can display more normative behavior than human adults. Such a finding does not at all undermine the heuristics and biases research tradition, as is sometimes argued.

Elaboration and choiceDuane T. Wegener, Yi-Wen Chien2013 Vol. 23 No. 4proposed a dual-process perspective on choice. We applaud the effort to generate such a model, and we support the effort to integrate potentially disparate literatures under a general theoretical approach. In an attempt to further that goal of integration, we discuss similarities and differences between the proposed approach and the Elaboration Likelihood Model () — one of the earliest models of evaluative judgment to propose different mechanisms and consequences of judgments formulated at different levels of motivation and ability to process available information. In addition, because many choice settings involve familiar options that have been previously evaluated, we discuss potential implications of the literature on influences of attitudes on behavior (which can often be framed as involving a choice to act or not or to act in one way rather than another). In each case, we believe that these previous social psychological literatures provide insights that could enhance and extend the proposed model.

Malleable conjoint partworths: How the breadth of response scales alters price sensitivityAmitav Chakravarti, Andrew Grenville, Vicki G. Morwitz, Jane Tang, Gulden Ulkumen2013 Vol. 23 No. 4In one laboratory study and one field study conducted with a large, representative sample of respondents, we show that seemingly innocuous questions that precede a conjoint task, such as demographic and usage-related screening questions can alter the price sensitivities recovered from the main conjoint task. The findings demonstrate that whether these prior questions use broad response categories (i.e., few scale points) or narrow response categories (i.e., many scale points) systematically influences consumers' price sensitivity in a CBC (Choice Based Conjoint) study. We suggest that this may occur because the narrow (vs. broad) response categories in the prior questions lead to consideration of a greater (vs. fewer) number of attributes during the key conjoint task. Since both groups of consumers readily consider the naturally salient price attribute, responding to previous questions with narrow (vs. broad) response categories leads to a greater (vs. fewer) number of non-price attributes being considered, and consequently, decrease the weight afforded to price and reduce price sensitivity.

Opening a donor's wallet: The influence of appeal scales on likelihood and magnitude of donationAmaud De Bruyn, Sonja Prokopec2013 Vol. 23 No. 4We examine the influence of appeal scales on the likelihood and magnitude of donation in a large field experiment. We argue and show that the leftmost anchor on the appeal scale most strongly influences the likelihood of donating; the lower the anchor, the higher the donation likelihood. Furthermore, our findings indicate that increasing the steepness of the amounts on the appeal scale increases the magnitude of donations. Both effects are stronger for infrequent than for frequent donors. Our results demonstrate that by using what a charity knows about past donor behavior, it can alter appeal scales to change donation behavior.

Refining the dual-process theory of preference construction: A reply to Gawronski, Martin and Sloman, Stanovich, and Wegener and ChienMargarita Gorlin, Ravi Dhar2013 Vol. 23 No. 4Our target article proposed a dual-system framework for understanding context and task effects in choice. In this summary, we address the major points made by each set of commentators and, building on their suggestions, define a more precise dual-system theory of preference construction. We also propose some avenues for future research on a broader dual-system approach to understanding choice.

Refining the dual-system theory of choiceJustin W. Martin, Steven A. Sloman2013 Vol. 23 No. 4We are highly sympathetic to Dhar and Gorlin's goal of developing a dual system theory of choice. But we do feel that the proposal could be changed and clarified in a few ways. Specifically, we believe that the evidence suggests that the systems operate in parallel, not sequentially. In addition, the relation between intuitive/associative processing and affect remains unresolved, a vagueness that is especially troublesome for the problem of choice. Relatedly, the description of System I as perceptual requires further explanation and refinement. Finally, we reconsider the attribution of the compromise effect to deliberative processing and propose an alternative explanation, one that reveals one aspect of the interaction between intuitive and deliberative processes. While further specification and testing of predictions are necessary, the proposal by Dhar and Gorlin makes a substantive contribution toward understanding how choices are made.

Situated embodied cognition: Monitoring orientation cues affects product evaluation and choiceJiska Eelen, Siegfried Dewitte, Luk Warlop2013 Vol. 23 No. 4Consumers generally prefer products that are easy to interact with. In three studies, we show that this preference arises from the fit between product orientation and monitored situational constraints. Flexible right-handers, who monitor situational constraints, recall product orientations better and prefer products for which the handle is oriented in the direction of the hand used for grasping. When their ability to monitor situational constraints is impaired, the preference for easy-to-grasp products is attenuated. The findings highlight that motor fluency is a relevant cue for decision making when consumers assess how to interact with a product. The implications of these results for embodiment and fluency research are discussed.

What should we expect from a dual-process theory of preference construction in choice?Bertram Gawronski2013 Vol. 23 No. 4proposed a dual-process framework for understanding the effects of preference construction in choice. Drawing on the distinction operating principles and operating conditions, it is argued that their emphasis on cognitive elaboration fails to specify the mental operations involved in preference construction. This limitation makes their dual-process framework circular and susceptible to the criticism of single-process alternatives. The distinction between associative and propositional processes has the potential to fill this conceptual gap, thereby providing a more thorough understanding of preference construction effects in choice.

Women seek more variety in rewards when closer to ovulationAli Faraji-Rad, Mehrad Moeini-Jazani, Luk Warlop2013 Vol. 23 No. 4We propose that women's increased generalized sensitivity to rewards during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle causes them to seek more variety in rewards when they are in the fertile phase than when they are not in the fertile phase of the cycle. In Studies 1–3, across the reward domains of mating and hedonic food, we show that women seek more variety in rewards when closer to ovulation. Moreover, we provide support for the proposition that women's increased reward sensitivity during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle causes their greater variety seeking. Specifically, in Study 3, we show that fertile women's greater variety seeking does not extend to non-rewards, such as non-hedonic food. Our findings suggest that behavioral effects of women's hormonal shifts during the menstrual cycle are not limited to the mating domain and may extend to a wide category of reward domains.

Word-of-mouth and the forecasting of consumption enjoymentStephen X. He, Samuel D. Bond2013 Vol. 23 No. 4The digital era has permitted rapid transfer of peer knowledge regarding products and services. In the present research, we explore the value of specific types of word-of-mouth information (numeric ratings and text commentary) for improving forecasts of consumption enjoyment. We present an anchoring-and-adjustment model in which the relative forecasting error associated with ratings and commentary depends on the extent to which consumer and reviewer have similar product-level preferences. To test our model, we present four experiments using a range of hedonic stimuli. Implications for the provision of consumer WOM are discussed.